Top Story
Oscar winner Barry Levinson (Bandits) received the Golden Eddie for filmmaker of the year Sunday at the 52nd American Cinema Editors Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Pietro Scalia won best edited dramatic feature for Black Hawk Down while Jill Bilcock won best edited comedy or musical for Moulin Rouge, reports The Hollywood Reporter. The television categories were dominated by HBO editors, which won three of the six awards. Veteran editors George Watters and Antony Gibbs received lifetime achievement awards.
In General
Even after the 25th anniversary of his death, Elvis Presley is still drawing controversy. Elvis Presley Enterprises has licensed a company to replace George Washington on some of Tennessee's 2002 quarters with a color illustration of Presley. While defacing U.S. currency is considered a misdemeanor crime, the King of Rock 'n' Roll quarters are in a gray area because they are not part of a deceptive scheme, the Associated Press reports.
Harrison Ford, who divorced screenwriter Melissa Mathison last year, was seen strolling down Madison Ave. with Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart, bundled in winter jackets and wearing blue jeans and caps. According to PageSix.com, the also couple attended a post-Globes party together, and when the waifish Flockhart spilled red wine on her dress, Ford kissed her on the cheek and told bystanders, "She's a beautiful girl."
Madonna has refused to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award this year, worried that it might make her seem old and out of date. According to People, the 43-year-old singer was asked to accept the award in recognition of her 18-year career that started in 1984. Instead, the award went to Sting, who insisted the title of the award be changed to Outstanding Contribution before he'd accept it.
Tom Cruise is indeed sporting see-through braces, his spokeswoman Pat Kingsley told Reuters. After taking one of his kids to an orthodontist in Beverly Hills, the doctor noticed that Cruise's bite was out of alignment. The 39-year-old actor will likely have the braces on for a year or so but will take them off for movies.
Sylvester Stallone saved his pregnant wife, model Jennifer Flavin, and good friend Mira Sorvino from a stalled elevator after the two women were stuck between floors in the backstage elevator. The incident occurred during the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Love Rocks party last Thursday at the new Kodak Theater in Hollywood. Stallone took off his jacket and manually pried open the doors with his own hands, pulling the women to safety, according to myvideostore.com.
Singer Kylie Minogue told British talk-show host Michael Parkinson that she intends to marry boyfriend James Gooding, reports Sky News. Minogue, who has had a string of high-profile relationships including late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, said she has found happiness with the British model.
Anjelica Huston has been added to the cast of Blood Work, a new suspense-thriller from Warner Bros. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is based on the novel by Michael Connelly and stars Clint Eastwood as an FBI profiler tracking a serial killer under unusual circumstances involving his own history and blood analysis. Eastwood is also helming the film, which began filming Tuesday in Los Angeles.
Paul McCartney returned home to Liverpool, England, for a surprise appearance Sunday at a tribute concert for George Harrison, Reuters reports. The audience joined McCartney in an impromptu version of "Yesterday" in memory of the late Beatle, who died of cancer last year at the age of 58.
Don't expect Paul McCartney's wedding to Heather Mills next month to be a showy affair. A friend of McCartney told Scotland's Sunday Mail that the couple considered marrying in Skibo Castle, near Dornoch--where Madonna married director Guy Ritchie a year ago--but decided to go for something simpler instead, either at a small church or register office. The couple got engaged last July after meeting two years ago at an awards dinner.
The Screen Actors Guild and the Association of Talent Agents reached a tentative agreement Monday that would allow talent agencies to make and receive investments in companies involved in production, reports AP. The current rules, which went into place in 1939, were drafted to prevent conflicts of interest and protect actors from exploitation by talent agencies working for either producers or movie studios. Movie studios and television networks, however, would still be banned from owning or investing in a talent agency.

Moviegoers aren't bored of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring yet. They spent another $16.2 million on Rings tickets, many of them for repeat viewings, keeping it in first place for a fourth consecutive weekend.
Also driving the box office were good expansions for A Beautiful Mind and The Royal Tenenbaums, a tasty Orange County opening and solid holdover business for Ocean's Eleven.
Key films -- those grossing at least $500,000 -- took in about $103.5 million, a solid total for the second weekend of the New Year. Comparisons to last year aren't valid since the comparable 2001 weekend was the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, which fell a week earlier than it does this year.
THE TOP TEN
New Line Cinema's PG-13 rated epic The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring held on to first place for a fourth consecutive week with a still impressive ESTIMATED $16.15 million (-30%) at 3,381 theaters (theater count unchanged; $4,777 per theater). Its cume is approximately $228.3 million, heading for $300 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Peter Jackson, Rings' ensemble cast is led by Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen.
Noting that Rings is heading for $300 million domestically, New Line distribution president David Tuckerman said Sunday morning, "It could do more. I think the (Academy) Awards are going to determine where this finally settles itself in. A lot of nominations will help and if we win anything it'll help. I think that will determine where this picture ultimately shows up. The Globes are going to help us, also. The Globes will give us a bump, if it happens."
Focusing on the film's performance abroad, Tuckerman pointed out, "This weekend we crossed over $500 million internationally all together. And we haven't opened Japan yet, which is going to be a huge market for us. The mysticism of this picture and the Japanese (are a perfect fit). Japan opens in a couple of weeks."
Universal, DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment's PG-13 rated drama A Beautiful Mind went wider in its fourth week, holding on to second place with a solid ESTIMATED $15.81 million (-5%) at 2,222 theaters (+369 theaters; $7,115 per theater). Its cume is approximately $59.0 million, heading for $100 million-plus in domestic theaters.
Directed by Ron Howard, the Brian Grazer production stars Russell Crowe, Ed Harris and Jennifer Connelly.
Mind was honored Friday night as the best film of the year by the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Howard tied for best director with Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann. Crowe was named best actor and Connelly was voted best supporting actress. In other key awards, the group named Sissy Spacek best actress for In the Bedroom and Ben Kingsley best supporting actor for Sexy Beast. Lord of the Rings won best composer (Howard Shore) and shared best song honors (Enya) with Vanilla Sky (Paul McCartney).
Mind's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in over 1,000 theaters this weekend.
"The studio continues to feel really optimistic about the film's performance," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco said Sunday morning. "We're coming into the awards season, which began Friday night with the Broadcast Film Critics, and it's evident that Beautiful Mind continues to be the darling."
Mind is nominated for six Golden Globes, including best picture, actor, director, supporting actress, screenplay (Akiva Goldsman) and original score (James Horner). It is on most Hollywood handicappers' short lists as a likely major contender for prime Oscar nominations, including best picture.
Paramount and MTV Films' opening of the PG-13 rated youth appeal comedy Orange County finished third with a healthy ESTIMATED $15.1 million at 2,317 theaters ($6,527 per theater).
Directed by Jake Kasdan, it stars Colin Hanks and Jack Black.
"We're happy with it," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "This is on the high end of where we expected it to be."
Asked what he thought made the film work so well, Lewellen replied, "One was obviously the (marketing) campaign on the picture. I think the support from MTV and the fact that it was the only new picture coming into the marketplace was a big help, too."
Looking at the overall marketplace, Lewellen noted, "Everything that was in the market also help up well. I think it says that when these pictures have a little room to breathe, not only the new openings but the product that's in the marketplace can hold up very well."
Warner Bros. PG-13 rated casino heist dramatic comedy Ocean's Eleven fell one rung to fourth place in its fifth week, still holding strongly with an ESTIMATED $7.54 million (-32%) at 2,670 theaters (-100 theaters; $2,822 per theater). Its cume is approximately $162.5 million, heading for $180-200 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Ocean's extensive cast includes George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
"We're thrilled with its success," Warner Bros. Distribution president Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "This movie has incredible legs and the audience has just continued to support it. It's very strong especially on
Saturdays and Sundays."
Buena Vista/Touchstone's R rated drama The Royal Tenenbaums expanded again in its fifth week, holding on to fifth place with a still encouraging ESTIMATED $6.37 million (-25%) at 905 theaters (+154 theaters; $7,042 per theater). Its cume is approximately $29.9 million.
Directed by Wes Anderson, it stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson.
Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' G rated animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius fell two slots to sixth place in its fourth week with a slower ESTIMATED $5.5 million (-39%) at 2,810 theaters (-341 theaters; $1,957 per theater). Its cume is approximately $69.0 million, heading for about $85 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by John A. Davis, it was produced by Steve Oedekerk, Davis and Albie Hecht.
Paramount's R rated romantic thriller Vanilla Sky, which was sixth a week earlier, tied for seventh place in its fifth week with a quieter ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-30%) at 2,770 theaters (-72 theaters; $1,805 per theater). Its cume is approximately $88.4 million, heading for about $105 million in domestic theaters.
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, it stars Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor and Cameron Diaz.
Miramax's PG-13 rated romantic comedy Kate &amp; Leopold, which was eighth a week earlier, tied for seventh place in its third week with an engaging ESTIMATED $5.0 million (-20%) at 2,467 theaters (theater count unchanged; $2,026 per theater). Its cume is approximately $37.4 million.
Directed by James Mangold, it stars Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.
USA Films' R rated whodunit Gosford Park, a likely Oscar contender, went wider in its third week, placing ninth with a jolly good ESTIMATED $3.79 million at 518 theaters (+387 theaters; $7,307 per theater). Its cume is approximately $6.7 million.
Directed by Robert Altman and starring an extensive ensemble cast, it was written by Julian Fellowes and produced by Altman, Bob Balaban and David Levy.
"The business yesterday was outrageous," USA Films distribution president Jack Foley said Sunday morning. "It's just so good. It's breaking out!"
Looking ahead, Foley said, the film should "finish the week with probably another $1.4 million (bringing it to) about $8.1 million and go into next weekend with an additional 100-plus theaters. I'm already sitting on 100 more runs right now for next week. And being that it is the holiday weekend, I'll get up as high as I can. If I can get (up to) 800, I'd do that because I want to exploit the Golden Globes, the holiday weekend and moving out of the Golden Globes into the (next weekend) with as much broadening as I can.
"I know I can be aggressive now because the film has demonstrated its accessibility in the marketplace. It demonstrated it in Nashville, where yesterday we did about $5,000 (and in) Tallahassee with $3,000 and Baton Rouge with $3,000. The suburbs and the small regional markets are all cranking. So I feel confident that we can go up to the next level."
If all goes well, Foley explained, by Jan. 24 "this $6.7 million that's going to turn into $8.1 million (by Jan. 18) is going to be over $13 million. It will be the biggest grossing Altman film in recent history because we'll surpass Dr. T and the Women at that point. Dr. T did about $12.2 million. Obviously, with the momentum the film is carrying right now, we've got a long way to go. It's very exciting because at this stage of the game it's going to take out The Player, too, which was about $21 million."
Rounding out the Top Ten was Warner Bros.' mega-blockbuster Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, down one rung in its ninth week with a calm ESTIMATED $3.4 million (-44%) at 2,170 theaters (-511 theaters; $1,567 per theater). Its cume is approximately $305.0 million, heading for $320 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Chris Columbus, Harry stars Daniel Radcliffe in its title role.
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw Universal's R rated fantasy thriller Brotherhood of the Wolf arrive to a biting ESTIMATED $0.47 million at 21 theaters
($22,523 per theater).
Directed by Christopher Gans, it stars Samuel Le Bihan.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend Columbia Pictures and Initial Entertainment Group's R rated drama Ali added theaters in its third week with a calm ESTIMATED $3.2 million (-54%) at 2,521 theaters (+75 theaters; $1,259 per theater). Its cume is approximately $54.4 million, heading for $65 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Michael Mann, it stars Will Smith.
Miramax's R rated Oscar contender drama In the Bedroom widened in its eighth week with a still attractive ESTIMATED $3.1 million at 424 theaters (+217 theaters; $7,350 per theater. Its cume is approximately $8.1 million.
Directed by Todd Field, it stars Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl and Marisa Tomei.
Miramax's R rated drama The Shipping News went wider in its third week with a choppy ESTIMATED $1.25 million at 266 theaters (+53 theaters; $4,700 per theater). Its cume is approximately $6.0 million.
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it stars Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.
Miramax Zoe Films' R rated French comedy Amelie expanded in its eleventh week with an encouraging ESTIMATED $1.1 million at 260 theaters (+33 theaters; $4,230 per theater. Its cume is approximately $19.3 million.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, it stars Audrey Tautou.
Revolution Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Films' R rated drama Black Hawk Down continued to fly high in its third week of platform release via Columbia Pictures with an ESTIMATED $0.73 million at 16 theaters (+12 theaters; $45,313 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.5 million.
Directed by Ridley Scott, it stars Josh Hartnett.
"We are on 16 screens exclusively in New York and Los Angeles -- four in New York and 12 in Los Angeles," Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesman Steve Elzer said Sunday morning. "The business since we opened has been nearly at capacity. That will go on 3,000 screens (starting Friday, Jan. 18). The tracking on it is really phenomenal. It's been building since Day One. You really couldn't hope for a better strategy to be in place to knock this thing out of the park. It's finding its audience and I think next weekend it will be the story."
Warner Bros.' PG-13 World War II drama Charlotte Gray expanded quietly in its third week with an ESTIMATED $0.18 million at 52 theaters (+47 theaters; $3,423 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.3 million.
Directed by Gillian Armstrong, it stars Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup and Michael Gambon.
Universal's R rated drama Mulholland Drive expanded in its 14th week with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.16 million at 96 theaters (+19 theaters; $1,630 per theater). Its cume is approximately $6.0 million.
Written and directed by David Lynch, it stars Justin Theroux and Naomi Watts.
USA Films' R rated black-and-white drama The Man Who Wasn't There went wider in its eleventh week with a slow ESTIMATED $0.1 million at 132 theaters (+40 theaters; $765 per theater). Its cume is approximately $7.1 million.
Directed by Joel Coen and written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, it stars Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand.
United Artists' R rated Bosnian war drama No Man's Land, an MGM release, went wider in its sixth week with a quiet ESTIMATED $0.035 million at 17 theaters (+4 theaters; $2,070 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.35 million.
Written and directed by Danis Tanovic, it won the best screenplay award in Cannes last May and was a hit at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals. Land is Bosnia's first official Oscar entry.
INTERNATIONAL
Universal's international division reported that it enjoyed strong for American Pie 2 in both Argentina and Mexico.
Pie 2 finished first in Argentina with a three day gross of $0.3 million on 56 screens, representing a market share of about 25 percent. Pie 2 was 40 percent bigger than the second ranking film Jeepers Creepers and was 32 percent bigger than the original American Pie was in Argentina. The studio noted that the picture's strong performance came during a period of economic and political upheaval in the country.
Pie 2 also opened in first place in Mexico with a hot two-day gross of $.82 million on 250 screens, representing about 25 percent of the marketplace. It was 38 percent bigger than the number two film Spy Game (released in Mexico by Nuvision) and was a whopping 245 percent bigger than the first American Pie. The sequel's two-day gross was 23 percent bigger than the entire first week for American Pie.
In Brazil Pie 2 continued to hold strong in its third week, placing fifth. Its cume after 23 days in Brazil is $2.6 million.
Pie 2's international cume to date is $131 million.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $103.53 million. Comparisons with last year are not valid because the comparable weekend last year was the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday weekend. This weekend's key film gross was down about 13.41 percent from $119.57 million for the previous weekend.
Last year, Paramount's opening week of Save the Last Dance was first with $27.53 million at 2,230 theaters ($12,344 per theater); and Fox's fourth week of Cast Away was second with $19.78 million at 3,048 theaters ($6,489 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $47.3 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $32.0 million.

IQ test, anyone?
Geniuses all of types--but mainly of the depressed, disillusioned or schizophrenic variety--dominated theaters nationwide this weekend during the otherwise happy holidays.
A Beautiful Mind, featuring Russell Crowe as Nobel Prize-winning John Forbes Nash Jr., tallied up a whopping $19.9 million through Wednesday, Jan. 2, at a maximum of 525 theaters since Dec. 21. That puts to shame seasonal underachievers The Majestic and Joe Somebody, which both debuted in wide release on the same day as A Beautiful Mind.
Father doesn't necessarily know best in The Royal Tenenbaums, a quirky comedy starring Gene Hackman as the patriarch of a gifted but truly dysfunctional family. Directed by Wes Anderson, The Royal Tenenbaums has amassed $11.5 million from Dec. 21 through Wednesday at a maximum of 291 theaters. Anderson's previous offering, the equally eccentric Rushmore, made a lowly $17 million in 1999 despite terrific critical acclaim.
The heartrending but inspirational A Beautiful Mind should brace itself for a bigger bow than The Royal Tenenbaums when it expands Friday to 1,800-plus theaters. The Ron Howard-directed drama quickly emerged as a strong Oscar contender, thanks in part to great reviews and a handful of Golden Globe nominations. Crowe could pull a Tom Hanks and earn himself an Oscar for the second consecutive year, following last year's win for Gladiator. He gives a quiet and sincere performance as the socially inept mathematician whose promising career fizzled in the 1950s as a result of his schizophrenia.
Howard's no stranger to causing a stir at the box office. The former sitcom star now ranks as of one Hollywood's highly sought-after directors following the smashes Splash, Apollo 13, Parenthood and Ransom. His last film, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, hauled off $260 million during the 2000 holiday season.
After earning $7.7 million last weekend, A Beautiful Mind looks set to corral between $15 million and $20 million in its first weekend in wide release. A possible slew of Oscar nominations will help A Beautiful Mind to become Howard's fourth $100 million hit in five tries, and his fifth in total.
The Royal Tenenbaums has critical momentum on its side, plus the promise of dominating the Oscar nominations in the acting categories. Anderson cast Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller and Luke Wilson as Hackman's messed-up kids.
Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray and Danny Glover costar, providing The Royal Tenenbaums with an insurance policy against some (wrongful) accusations that it, like its protagonists, is flawed and often too peculiar for its own good.
The Royal Tenenbaums should enjoy a hefty bump from last weekend's $4.9 million take as its expands to 751 theaters. If all goes well, The Royal Tenenbaums could surpass the totals for two recent Owen Wilson offerings, both costarring his Tenenbaums colleagues. The war yarn Behind Enemy Lines, with Hackman, has $51 million through Tuesday. Zoolander, the Stiller-directed fashion satire, has $45.1 million through Tuesday.
The first new wide release of 2002 is, ironically, a sci-fi thriller originally scheduled for summer 2000. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, Impostor represents another oft-delayed film that Miramax genre label Dimension will unceremoniously dump without much warning. Texas Rangers, Dimension's last such release, was mowed down without so much as a fighting chance when it debuted late November in 402 theaters to a gutless $319,000.
Strangely, the studio once displayed enormous faith in Impostor. An impressed Dimension threw money at director Gary Fleder in 1999 to expand what was then a part of The Light Years Trilogy into a stand-alone, feature-length film. Once slated for an Aug. 11, 2000, release, Impostor moved back and forth on Dimension's schedule, from fall 2000 to spring 2001, then fall 2001, spring 2002 and, to what seemed like a firm date, Dec. 25, 2001. Dimension then belatedly settled on Jan. 4, allowing Miramax to shift Kate &amp; Leopold from Dec. 21 to Christmas Day. Fleder, in the meantime, directed Don't Say a Word while the film was kept out of theaters and trimmed to secure a PG-13 rating.
In what sounds like a post-apocalyptic Fugitive, Gary Sinise stars as an engineer on the run after authorities suspect him of being an alien. Vincent D'Onofrio and Madeleine Stowe costar.
Dick's adaptations have enjoyed mixed success. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, floundered upon its 1982 release but has since become a cult classic praised for its unique vision of a future urban skyscape. Under Paul Verhoeven's guidance, We Can Remember It For You Wholesale became Total Recall, the Arnold Schwarzenegger trip to Mars that grossed $119.3 million in 1990.
Given its odd history and quiet release, Impostor looks set to vanish without causing much of a stir. Impostor, however, will no doubt serve as an appetizer for Philip K. Dick fans eagerly awaiting this summer's Minority Report, marking Tom Cruise's first collaboration with Steven Spielberg.
Impostor also will fall prey to the ongoing success of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Peter Jackson's magnificent adaptation of the first book in the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy continues to live up to expectation. After just 15 days in theaters, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring has tracked down a precious $179.3 million. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone made $201.9 million during the same period, but it was playing at 300 more theaters. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring should fend off a serious challenge this weekend from A Beautiful Mind to retain the box office pole position and soar past the all-important $200 million mark.
Speaking of the boy wizard, Harry Potter celebrated 2002 by almost doubling its Christmas weekend take of $7 million to $11.9 million. With $293.2 million through Wednesday, Harry Potter not only reigns as the year's top box office attraction, but, on Thursday, likely supplanted The Sixth Sense as the 10th top-grossing film released domestically. Thanksgiving's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets now faces the daunting task of becoming one of the most popular sequels ever made.
Put George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts in a film directed by Steven Soderbergh and its success is almost guaranteed. Ocean's Eleven keeps hitting the jackpot at the box office weekend after weekend. The jazzy remake of the Rat Pack crime caper beat out a slew of newcomers to reclaim the No. 2 spot last weekend, stealing off with $139.2 million through Wednesday. That ranks as a personal best for both Pitt and Soderbergh, whose Erin Brockovich and Traffic earned, respectively, $125.5 million and $124.1 million. If all continues to roll in Clooney's favor, Ocean's Eleven could beat The Perfect Storm's $182.6 million to become his highest grosser.
Tom Cruise can't expect Vanilla Sky to do the same for him. Cameron Crowe's much-maligned remake of Abre Los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) dropped a mere 5 percent last weekend, from $12 million to $11.5 million, and now has a good but far from great $72.8 million through Wednesday. That's less than what Mission: Impossible 2 made in its first five days in May 2000. Still, Vanilla Sky managed to surpass Cruise's other recent critically mauled drama, Eyes Wide Shut, which ended up with $55.6 million. With competition from A Beautiful Mind, however, Vanilla Sky should fall hard and fast long before it can reach $100 million.
Don't expect a reversal of fortunes for The Majestic and Joe Somebody, both of which should disappear from theaters when Oscar hopefuls Black Hawk Down, The Shipping News and I Am Sam storm theaters later this month.
The Majestic, featuring Jim Carrey in fine dramatic form, held steady in its second weekend, but that's not saying much when it debuted with $4.9 million. With only $18.9 million through Tuesday, The Majestic will likely represent a post-Ace Ventura: Pet Detective career low for Carrey. His last flop, Man on the Moon, wrestled a mere $34.5 million from audiences in 1999.
Joe Somebody, with $15.9 million through Tuesday, also stands as a personal worst for Tim Allen. For Richer or Poorer, a lazy comic take on Witness, mustered only $31.6 million in 1997.
The jury remains out on Ali and Kate &amp; Leopold.
Ali came out with both fists flying, earning a record $10.2 million for a Christmas Day release. Fatigue set in last weekend, as Michael Mann's biography of the ex-Cassius Clay punched up a lower-than-expected $14.7 million and has $41.4 million through Wednesday. Audiences seem to prefer A Beautiful Mind, which made more money Wednesday in limited release than Ali at 2,446 theaters.
Chances are the $105 million Ali will not go the distance should Oscar voters turn a blind eye to Will Smith's unenthusiastically received portrayal of the Greatest.
Meg Ryan has not enjoy a hit since re-teaming with Tom Hanks for a third time in You've Got Mail. After disappointing results with the tearjerker Hanging Up and the political thriller Proof of Life, Ryan returns to the realm of romantic comedies with Kate &amp; Leopold. The time-bending yarn, co-starring Hugh Jackman as a 19th-century blueblood transported to 21st-century New York, opened Christmas Day with a lukewarm $2.5 million but made a respectable $9.7 million last weekend. Its total through Wednesday is $23.4 million, guaranteeing Ryan her biggest hit since You've Got Mail. Not that the dull and cliché-ridden Kate &amp; Leopold will come close to matching the $115.8 million that You've Got Mail made in 1998.
Two animated adventures should continue to keep kids amused this weekend. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius soared to $51.5 million on Wednesday, making it the third consecutive hit spin-off of a popular Nickelodeon TV show. The smart Jimmy Neutron should landed safety between The Rugrats Movie's $100.4 million and Rugrats In Paris's $76.5 million.
Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc. experience a major power surge last weekend, jumping 61 percent last weekend from $3.8 million to $6.1 million. Its total is $240 million through Wednesday, bringing its well within reach of Toy Story 2, which, at $245.8 million, stands as the most successful of the four Disney/Pixar collaborations.
Shrek lost its box office crown in late December when Harry Potter surpassed its $267.6 million gross. Chances are the green but not-so mean ogre could find himself unexpectedly caught in the shadow of two energy producing monsters and a lost little girl.